Community

The people who live near our pipelines and facilities, and are served by our gas distribution systems, expect us to operate safely. The protection of the public and the environment is our highest priority. At the same time, our neighbors have an important role to play in the safety of our systems.

Keeping you safe and informed

We communicate regularly with our neighbors—so that they’re aware of the work we’re doing, and know how to stay safe around our pipelines, gas distribution systems and facilities.

Whenever we plan a new project, we work with landowners, Aboriginal and Native American communities, our neighbors, environmental groups and regulators to plan pipeline routes that minimize environmental impact and land disturbance.

Through Enbridge’s robust Public Awareness program, we regularly provide pipeline safety information to the people who live and work along our pipeline routes, as well as public officials, emergency responders, school officials, farmers and excavators.

We also work with local first responders to build safety in the communities near our pipelines and facilities.

Safe Community

Enbridge’s Safe Community program awards grants to local first-response emergency services, including firefighters and rescue services, Emergency Medical Services, and ambulance organizations, in North American communities near our pipelines and facilities.

Launched in 2002 in the United States, and 2009 in Canada, the Safe Community program has helped support everything from professional training and educational programs, to new firehoses, to “Jaws of Life” extrication tools for fire departments, to automated external defibrillators—even major financial support of air ambulance services.

Since 2002, we’ve provided

in grants and donations through our
Safe Community program to first response agencies across North America, including US$1 million in 2018.

Putting first responders first

We are committed to providing community emergency responders with the information, tools and training they need to protect people and property along our pipeline rights-of-way.

We make sure emergency responders:

Know where the pipelines are located and who operates those pipelines;

Are aware of how to recognize a possible pipeline emergency and how to respond;

Know what Enbridge does to prepare for emergencies.

Emergency Responder Education Program

Enbridge’s Emergency Responder Education Program gives emergency responders and 9-1-1 call center personnel unlimited access to free, online training designed to help them respond safely and effectively to any pipeline emergency.

We developed the online training in collaboration with, and based on, a program created by the U.S. National Association of State Fire Marshals, and we’ve made it available free of charge to more than 8,000 emergency response organizations across North America. Since the creation of the program, about 3,200 emergency responders and officials, Enbridge employees and other interested parties in the U.S. and Canada have completed EREP training.

Keeping in touch

We meet regularly with first responders in communities near our pipelines and facilities—including police, fire, and EMS—to share Enbridge’s emergency response procedures, and identify the roles and responsibilities of external responders who would support Enbridge in the event of an incident.

Our Canadian Emergency Response Ambassadors make regular visits to municipal officials, first responders and 9-1-1 dispatchers near our crude oil and liquids pipelines, informing them about our online training and our Safe Community program.

Coffee Talks in your neighborhood

As part of our community engagement, especially during pipeline construction, we regularly host open houses to keep communities informed about Enbridge in their area. It’s a great opportunity for the public to ask questions, get the information they need and learn more about Enbridge’s approach to safety and being a good neighbor.

Building strong relationships

Enbridge launched the Emergency Response Ambassador initiative in 2013 as part of our U.S. Public Awareness program.

Our employee ambassadors have built meaningful relationships with U.S. emergency responders near our pipelines and facilities—arranging presentations, facility tours, and tabletop exercises. To date, we've trained more than 200 employee ambassadors as part of the program.

Responding to an emergency

We hope we never have to respond to a pipeline leak. But if we do, we’re ready.

Prevention is a critical component of pipeline safety, and we focus on prevention at Enbridge before issues arise. While our ultimate goal is to prevent all spills and releases, we’re also committed, as a responsible pipeline operator, to providing a comprehensive incident response at any point along our pipeline network.

Enbridge maintains strong emergency preparedness and response systems that we regularly test and continuously improve alongside local first responders, emergency management officials, and law enforcement.

Taking responsibility

We take every incident seriously, responding vigorously and cleaning up environmental impacts. We assume full responsibility, with the goal of safely and efficiently returning the affected area back to its pre-incident condition or as close as possible.

Throughout the process we work with regulators, environmental experts and our neighbors in the community to ensure the rehabilitation meets their expectations.

Since 2012, we’ve spent

US$60M

on training and response equipment, ranging from booms to boats, which has been deployed across throughout North America along our systems.

The Enbridge Enterprise Emergency Response team (E3RT)

In 2011, Enbridge created a cross-company team with specialized training. The E3RT regularly conducts major training exercises involving emergency response contractors and consultants, as well as emergency response agencies at the local, state/provincial, and federal levels—and is trained and ready to quickly respond to large-scale events anywhere Enbridge operates in North America. The 120 employees who make up the E3RT hold annual training sessions to brush up on their emergency response skills.

In 2018, our emergency response teams actively participated in

315

drills, exercises and equipment deployments, working alongside first response agencies to test and practice on our emergency response plans.

Regional emergency plans

We have tailored and detailed emergency response plans, region by region, that govern our response for all types of situations.

These plans consider all the factors that influence the behavior and potential impact of a release—including drinking water, flow of running water, air emissions, wildlife and animal livestock, and shoreline impacts.

Safe digging: Know what’s below

Preventing third-party damage.

Third-party damage is one of the leading causes of pipeline leaks. We’re committed to communicating with our neighbors and customers about our systems, projects and operations, to make sure landowners, community members and first responders know how to stay safe – and avoid accidentally damaging – our facilities, pipelines and distribution systems.

Call Before You Dig Programs

Throughout North America buried utilities to deliver important services we all rely on such as electricity, water, cable and data, as well as oil and gas transportation and distribution. To protect public safety and the systems that deliver these key services, Call-Before-You-Dig programs exist across Canada and the United States for anyone planning an excavation for construction work or landscaping activities like planting trees, digging a new garden or building fences and decks.

Before you dig . . .

Call 2 to 3 working days before you start any excavation so that a locator can come out and mark underground utilities for you free of charge.

UNITED STATES RESIDENTS CALL:

8-1-1

CANADIAN RESIDENTS VISIT:

clickbeforeyoudig.com

How you can help

If an incident occurs, your quick action could save lives—and help protect your home or your community.

Renewables and Power Transmission Emergency Numbers

Canada

United States

24 hours, toll free1-866-420-6630

MATL (Alberta)1-888-780-8831

24 hours, toll free1-866-420-6630

MATL (Western Montana)1-888-780-8831

Staying safe, beating the heat

For firefighters, 21st-century technology has presented a solution for overheating while battling flames: Bunker gear. “Overheating is probably the biggest concern for firefighters when we’re talking about wildland firefighting,” says Kim Cannady, Regional Emergency Services Coordinator for Flagstaff County in northern Alberta. In spring 2018, a Safe Community grant from Enbridge allowed for the purchase of a dozen sets of bunker gear for the Galahad and Strome Fire Departments within Flagstaff County.

When it comes to fueling the quality of people’s lives, safety and reliability are built in to our energy infrastructure – and they’re in place long before we begin to build and operate any of our systems.